Taking The Ol’ Out Of Sole: Students Recycle Sneakers

By Eliza Hallabeck

For a group of fourth grade students at Middle Gate School, old smelly sneakers still serve a purpose.

Over the month of April, used sneakers were gathered at multiple locations in Newtown, and on May 10 the accumulated shoes were driven to Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield to be recycled as part of the Connecticut Recyclers Coalition’s annual drive.

This year, according to Virginia Chion, one of the two advisors for the program, more than 1,500 shoes were gathered by the group at Middle Gate School.

“We had more parent drivers than we actually needed,” Ms Chion said by e-mail regarding the drop off at Andrew Warde High School. “And six members of our Green Team came with smiles and their green shirts.”

All of the old sneakers will be ground up, and the material will be used to create running tracks, basketball courts, and playgrounds. Nike Reuse-A-Shoe sponsored the drive.

“Everyone had a great time,” said Ms Chion, “and the sun cooperated.”

In total, more than 3,500 shoes were raised for the cause by Bethel, Sherman, Brookfield and Middle Gate schools, according to Ms Chion.

The group of students, nicknamed the Green Team, have been studying ways to help promote and keep a greener environment. In addition to the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe project, the students have been collecting recyclable paper from around the school.

The Green Team is actually the RRD Club, which stands for Respect, Responsibility and Celebration of Diversity.

This was the third year that the statewide recycling program took place. It is part of a national effort to collect old shoes, and Connecticut is the only state to have a statewide collection program. The state’s recycling drive will end on June 30. Last year more than 10,000 pairs of sneakers were recycled in the state.